While brands such as Snow, Yanjing and Tsingtao return to take a spot in the top 10, Chinese beer brand Harbin made its first appearance this year debuting in seventh place.

Amin Alkhatib, alcoholic drinks Analyst at Euromonitor International, said: “Chinese dominance is the key theme to 2013’s volume sales of the top 10 global beers. This is seen with Tsingtao taking over the number two spot from Bud Light and Harbin breaking into the top 10 following the sale of Modelo Grupo in the US by A-B InBev.

“China’s dynamic performance in beer volume consumption has already overtaken that of the US’s and is due to be the leading beer market in value terms by 2016, and this is reflected in growth of Chinese brands and decline of North American ones.

“Although AB InBev had successfully introduced Budweiser into the Chinese market and increased its global volume sales performance it will not catch up with the dynamism of identifiably Chinese brands. This is observed in A-B InBev’s own local brand – Harbin – that is its key brand ever since it purchased Harbin brewery in 2004.”

Elsewhere Bud Light overtakes its ancestor Budweiser for the first time, while Brahma overtakes Coors in the fight for ninth.